DONLEY’S WILD WEST TOWN, Route 20 & South Union Road, Union, 815-923-9000 or www.wildwesttown.com. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends May, September and October; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily Memorial Day through Labor Day. The 2012 season opens May 19. Featuring a museum, Wild West Town with live action Wild West Show three times daily, pan for gold pyrite, pony rides, train ride, petting zoo, roping lessons, blacksmith, old time movies, shops, restaurant and more. Admission: $15 a person, free for children age 2 and younger when accompanied by a paying adult.

GREATER HARVARD AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 308 N. Hart Blvd., Harvard, 815-943-6141. Open 1:30 to 4 p.m. every Sunday from May through October. Silent movies shown each Sunday. Special tours may be arranged. Call 815-943-6141 or 815-943-3561. Free admission. Donations accepted.

McHENRY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM, 6422 Main St., Union, 815-923-2267 or www.mchsonline.org. Hours: 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and Sundays, May through October. Closed Saturdays. Local history research library open year-round on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. by appointment. Heritage Quilters meet 9:30 a.m. each Wednesday year-round at the museum. Admission: $5 adults, $3 seniors and students, $12 per family (includes two family member adults and two or more children), free for society members.

CZECHOSLOVAK HERITAGE MUSEUM, 122 W. 22nd St., Oak Brook, 630-472-0500 or www.csafraternallife.org. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Highlighting the history and culture of the Czech Republic and Slovakia featuring a wide variety of displays and exhibits including authentic Czech, Moravian, and Slovak costumes, crystals and ceramics, historical exhibits, dolls and puppets, and needlework dating from 1850. Admission: $5 adults, $3 seniors and students, $10 per family, $3 a person in groups of five or more.
DISCOVERY CENTER MUSEUM, 711 N. Main St., Rockford, 815-963-6769 or www.discoverycentermuseum.org. A hands-on, family-oriented museum in Riverfront Museum Park. First outdoor museum park in the U.S., with exhibits about sound, weather, water, cave exploration, and a two-story maze. Check the web site for a variety of home school and classes after school. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission: $7 adults and children ages 2 to 17, free for children age 1 and younger and museum members. Schedule: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 21, Kids in the Kitchen healthy eating event (free for children ages 10 and younger and their families).

FOX RIVER TROLLEY MUSEUM, Route 31, just south of State Street, South Elgin, 847-697-4676, or www.foxtrolley.org. Ride historic “L” and trolley cars on 103-year-old railroad along Fox River. Museum opens for the 2012 season on May 13. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, May 13 through Labor Day, as well as Fridays and Saturdays in October. One-ride fares: $4 adults, $3 seniors, $2 children ages 3-11, free for children younger than age 3 or $8 for an all-day ticket.
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HOME AND STUDIO, 951 Chicago Ave., Oak Park, 708-848-1976, www.gowright.org. This historic house museum, operated by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, served as Wright’s residence, studio and architectural laboratory during the first twenty years of his career from 1889 to 1909. Oak Park contains the world’s largest concentration of Wright-designed structures, 26 in all. Daily guided tours 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Interior house tour admission: $15 adults, $12 seniors and youth ages 4-17, free for children ages 3 and younger. Other tour packages available.

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, 220 E. Chicago Ave., 312-280-2660 or www.mcachicago.org. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Closed Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission: $12 adults, $7 students and seniors, free for children 12 and younger, members of the military and museum members. Admission is free all day on Tuesdays year round.

NATIONAL HELLENIC MUSEUM, 333 S. Halsted St., Chicago, 312-655-1234 or www.nationalhellenicmuseum.org. The only major museum in the U.S. dedicated to the Greek journey, the Museum explores the story of Greek history, culture and arts from ancient times to today. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday evenings. Admission: $10 adults, $8 seniors and students, $7 children ages 3-12, free for children younger than 3 and members.

RICHARD H. DRIEHAUS MUSEUM, 40 E. Erie St., Chicago, 312-932-8665 or www.driehausmuseum.org. Housed in the historic Samuel Mayo Nickerson Mansion, built from 1879 to 1883, the museum is a showcase for late 19th and early 20th century art and design. The Marble Palace, as the house became known, was one of the grandest residential buildings of the 19th century Chicago. Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday for tours at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Admission: $20 adults, $12.50 seniors, $10 students with valid ID and children ages 10-17. Due to the fragile nature of the historic interiors, children younger than age 9 are not admitted and those younger than 18 must be accompanied by an adult.